We had a really good weekend. We're in a cocoon of a Happy Place.
Long weekends do that for us.
We showed at an AKC show Saturday and Sunday only, having recently vowed to never do three days of AKC again. But wouldn't you know, the courses were really fun (i.e. different!), the judges were all kinds of nice (i.e. forgiving!), and the days zoomed by (i.e. time left to do other things!). And gee, surprise! I found the courses to be engaging, as such, we did really well! Also, I still really don't know who the volunteer coordinator was, but they deserve many C/Ts; no conflicts, no abuses, really a perfect job of scheduling. Plus, I won a lovely gift card in the raffle which enabled much spending at the vendor...
So, side note, in an attempt to find energy boosters for The Dog to keep her up during the long days, I "bought" several kinds of snacks promising to deliver such results. Experiment time! We will soon see if anything works. She sure likes them (helllooooo, it's food! She'd be happy eating an old battery so long as it had some peanut butter on it.), but not sure if I believe the hype at this point. Next step is getting some Go Dog (um, how can we NOT try that product??) for the August shows. Research is fun.
And if all else fails, I'll just ask Crack Puppy to hook her up.
Speaking of, Crack Puppy has been up to all kinds of mischief lately (hence the return of the 'Crack Puppy' moniker). It all started Friday when I wouldn't let her get the ribeyes we were planning to grill for dinner. With narrowed eyes she vowed revenge.
In sum, let's just say there is no limit to the revenge a Crack Puppy can muster.
But in between all the chaos and carnage we had lots of fun!
Crack Puppy even made a new best friend- Jolly Ball!
MINE.
Um, still MINE.
Pup in hiding. Dog very upset by lack of sharing.
Pup found. Intervention needed.
Dog satisfied.
Pup, plotting.
You wouldn't let her take it, would you?
Sorry Dog, once a hog, always a hog.
***
Still friends?
Um, yeah, except for those claws, I'd almost believe ya, Dog.
What can I say, I don't give up easily and I'm certainly not going to let all you off the hook either. I suffer, you suffer.
But really, it's going much better this time- promise.
I've managed to learn quite a bit during and after Failed Attempt One with The Dog, both through study and execution.
Much of that I've been able to apply to The Pup.
And while if I suffer, you suffer, there is the flip side: when I benefit, so do you! (Though I am sure you'd prefer ice cream over unsolicited advice...)
So what have I learned?
One- and most important- no one has a 'formula.' There are some very good general concepts, but largely this is trial and error. If anyone tries to sell you a formula, run away. Certainly don't buy it!
Two- It will NEVER be perfect. If you are looking for perfect at any stage or in the long term usage, run away.
So there you go, helpful, no? (Wink!) Really, I've learned way more than just that, but I doubt anything else could be applied to EVERY team. Again with the 'no formulas' thing.
So...Things I've figured out regarding my dogs (which may or may not be helpful for anyone else):
Start 'em young. I read that that one person started their dog on a plank the week she brought her home. It made sense; her dog had amazing dogwalks. There was certainly no harm in building value in the board at that age-most of us do similar exercises for rear-end awareness anyways. At this point, board value is essentially ingrained into The Pup's mind.
Other Foundation Matters. The more you do with body awareness in general, the better off you are. At the high speeds of a running dogwalk, you need to know your dog is 100% in control and understanding of their body.
Learning Style Matters Too. The Dog did not start out life with tricks based foundation or shaping like The Pup. She was not taught to learn, or more importantly, how to make mistakes. This has caused more issues with training this obstacle than anything else. I've spent the last year and a half trying to rectify this by teaching tricks, tricks and more tricks through shaping. While she still has her preference to be perfect, she is willing to redo something and doesn't liquefy into a puppy puddle when she makes mistakes now. And her ability to rebound has improved a lot too. Good for training in general, but great for this obstacle that requires a lot of repetition and shaping
Retrains suck. Ok, maybe this is another one that can be universally applied. Going forward, I would always opt to train running first, then a stop if need be and not the other way around. I'm not saying you only get one chance, but no matter what you're doing you can only retrain so many times and this is one place where excess confusion makes for excess frustration.
You can't be perfect, but you should be pretty good. If it isn't pretty accurate at 6", then it won't get much better if you raise it and cross your fingers. Yes, some dogs seem to run into an awkward height at some point, but in general moving on before there is enough consistency to indicate understanding is a bad idea. This was a big mistake I made with The Dog. I didn't know enough to tell if she got it, or rather, that she got what I was trying to uh, get her to get. Get it??
Know your dog. A big duh, and kind of relates to the formula thing. Rather than grasping ONE training format, I should have checked them all out. The one I happened to pick at first was not the best one for The Dog. Parts of it, yes, but not everything. Like I've said before, The Pup has a training plan specifically catered to what makes her tick. It would not work for The Dog- I'm still working on narrowing in on the best thing for her. Trial and error, baby.
Luckily though, far less error, since as you can see from the above, I figured out a few things. Phew. Only took a year. If anyone else has any valuable lessons on the running contacts, please share! Learning at the expense of others is the best way to go!
***
So here is The Dog's current status. You can see how varied I am when we practice, for two reasons: I'm still working on what gets the best results as far as the reward goes, and I don't want her to 'feel' the reps. If I repeat the exact same tactic she either falls apart or falls into patterns (like how she learned to pace me off the DW). Besides, in real life I won't always be ahead or behind or moving or standing still, right?
Anyways, she only had one giant miss, but about half or so were only back foot hits. I'm rewarding these of course because I care more about speed consistency than footfalls, but I am jackpotting the really nice strides.
I'm extremely happy with this compared to the first attempt last year. She's happy, she is offering a nice pace and the leaping is pretty rare. (But again, any thoughts or advice are very welcome.)
***
Here's The Pup. She had her first ever miss (and it was spectacular!) which I included because it's history. I think she was so excited to say hi to Marvin that she forgot about anything else. When he didn't give her a treat it shocked her, but clearly didn't bring her down. Solid after that.
Also, one last video starring The Pup. We are very sad, it's the video for our last lesson through ST's online course. Luckily there was enough homework we didn't even get to start that we will have ideas to occupy us for ages.
By the way, I would really, really recommend trying out her online courses as a participant. If I haven't already said it a dozen times- totally worth the money (and it wasn't that much to start with).
So anyways, show this weekend (AKC) and a glorious day off on Monday, though I know I will be busy trying to keep the dogs' heads from exploding along with the fireworks.
I just figured out the puppies are 6 months old now!
In some ways I can hardly believe it, but yeah, I guess they ARE growing up. The Pup has ceased with destroying the bathroom every time I take a shower.
She fights bravely for the toy in tug of war with The Dog now.
She is the loudest thing ever in her crate (she's figured out what she's missing out on when she's in there!).
Then of course there is the genius factor.
Inside her sizable baseball head, there is a baseball brain too, filled with many tricks.
Yep, just 6 months old and already turning tricks. And letting people take pictures! Scandalous. I warned her that they'd probably end up on the internet...
***
Voila, the "Monster" series...
Original Monster
COOKIE Monster.
Zombie Monster wants more braaaiiinns
Godzilla Monster
And the "Where's Yer Butt Go" Series:
Does it go on a wall??
No? Hmm....
Does it go on the Leader??
No? Not there either?
Does it go on the truck???
No, definitely not on the truck. Maybe...
It goes in the air!!
You got it! Genius, I tell ya!
***
Also, I've shameless stolen the following images without consent, because I have to show off The Pup's equally adorable siblings. I'm so lucky to be in touch with their Leaders and to get so many updates. (Hearing that it's not just MY puppy that is naughty is so comforting!) I saw these fresh 6 month shots the other day and couldn't resist stealing...er, sharing-
Mr. Crime aka Beefcake
Ms. Triton, looking quite svelte after all the coffee and cigarettes!
***
So I suppose I should update on The Pup's training status too, seems appropriate.
Besides tricks, we're still making our way through agility basics. She is being an ace at weave channels (moved 'em in ONE NOTCH! woo!) and I know she "gets" it because she's turned up MPH through them. Happy to report that the 'weave channels, no guides' approach still hasn't bit me on the butt.
No changes or unexpected complications for the DW board work. She gets on, runs off straight every time. A bit boring really, heheh.This weekend I hope to get my DW assembled so I can start back chaining across the full but low obstacle.
Tunnel is pretty fun now, she will send to it independently but still comes out as quick as she can to find me again.
We introduced the tire, no problems there. It hasn't (yet) occurred to her to go anywhere but through the middle. Give it time...
Teeter is looking super- I'm extremely happy with her performance. We've made our way to a foot tall at the apex, she's running (FAST!) through the tip and applying breaks nicely to hold the four on end position. Probably will end up sliding based on how it's going now, she seems comfortable with that feeling. She loves the dang thing!
Table is lovely. I'm a terrible owner, we practice on the 16" table- 12" wasn't cutting it for getting her to jump up in a down position and was starting to go against what we'd worked on. But she loves table. LOVES it. She has an adorable way of jumping on while at the same time turning in air to make sure she lands, in the down position, so she is facing me. Good multitasking? We just started working on me walking away and no elbows popping up. One of the downsides of short-haired dogs!
"Jumps" (don't worry, still essentially no height there!) are looking better every time. She was a bit Velcro-y (which I suppose is natural the way I teach them) but now is seeking them out. We can race a line without her running around- for the most part she does what is in the line I've set- which was totally the goal. It's only been the last few sessions where she's seemed to think these exercises were really fun. I think before she was thinking about what she was doing and what I was doing. Now she's got a handle on it though and is having a blast. I like that she is largely very respectful of my handling and has picked up on the various signals. Fronts, blinds and post turns are really nice. We just started rears which were harder due to Velcro-iness but she's catching on.
And in my quest for being for amazing to her, I've started just doing super short sessions, alternating her with The Dog. And she always goes second. Rather than try 'leave 'em wanting more' I'm sort of trying to cut it off when attention wanes. No attention? You're done. She REALLY wants to be the one 'out' so going away for not focusing should get through to her quickly. She definitely came out stronger each time last night trying this tactic.
And (proud Leader moment of boasting!!) she even managed to work in the same ring as another dog last night! Without chasing the other dog!! The other dog was a super exciting barking Sheltie too, her favorite kind of dog to chase. I was really happy with that- it's her absolute weakness- and the fact that she maintained attention and upheld excellent obstacle performance showed me that she knew it was 'her' time so she better not waste it!
So yeah, that's where we are at. Sitting pretty good on my goals for her for the summer. Here's to another productive 6 months of fun!
If you’re on the Clean Run list, you already know where this is going.
If not, I’m sure you’ve been feeling the heat anyways, as volatile as the discussion has been recently. The topic? No, not jump height cut-offs, teeter calls or any other controversial rules or regulations. Believe it or not, the subject getting everyone so worked up is the seemingly innocuous theme of volunteering.
That’s right- volunteering. Surprising, I know. After all, how many of you lay awake at night thinking about volunteering at shows? Probably none of you living in the ‘normal’ ranges of sanity. Yet the firestorm that followed one editorial weeks ago continues to burn on all sides. Apparently the fact that some people volunteer while others don’t is a touchy one. This has been true since the dawn of agility, nothing has changed in the past few weeks, but it looks like now is the time to hash it all out in one big vent of opinion. The dispute has left many of us wondering- why? Why volunteer? Why not? Why does it matter?
Why it matters is the easy one to answer- no volunteers typically means no show. Most host clubs can’t afford to hire workers- most clubs barely turn a profit. Sure, they can up the entries, but some clubs are unwilling to hoist the cost increase on to their exhibitors (i.e. themselves). So they instead rely on the fact that hey, we all want to play on the weekends, so we can all pitch in to make it work.
Which would be great, except that socialism is a failed construct. Not everyone does an equal share. You have to account for the fact that some people operate under their own agenda. Some people are physically incapable. Some people have 10 dogs entered or are running back and forth in multiple rings all day. Do I begrudge any of them for this? No. Really. I don’t. Until the recent controversy, I never even registered the fact that some people chose not to work on a conscious level. And now that I have, I still feel that it’s their weekend. I choose to pitch in, that’s my choice. They choose not.
Truly, the only time I come into conflict with a ‘sideliner’ is when they start becoming opinionated. You don’t like the way I bagged that tunnel or where I put the leash? Too bad- unless you want to come help. Then I’ll listen. Until that day, my friend, you are not allowed to complain. Yes, you spent your money, but you didn’t buy me, or any other pro bono helper for that matter! It’s like people who don’t vote and then spend the next four year complaining about who got elected. Really? You had a chance to impact the course of events, but you didn’t take it. Not a word from you please; let’s hope you learned for next time.
But aside from that minor exception, what other people do or don’t do in regards to volunteering doesn’t bother or thrill me in the least. I only have the ability to account for myself.
In that vein: Yes- I volunteer. I love this sport, I take ownership and responsibility and I feel like I must give back. I know I paid to enter already but my money goes to the “organization.” My support via volunteering goes to the clubs, and to the general betterment and continuation of the sport. That alone is typically enough to get me out of my chair and into the ring. However, there are other factors to consider as well that heavily influence the type and amount of volunteering I’ll choose to do on any given weekend:
Vouchers. Yup, I’ll say it; money makes the world go round. Even if it’s two dollars per class, even if it’s one dollar, if I can get vouchers I will work to the point of abuse. But before you cry selfish behavior, keep in mind that the (maybe) $50 I may save on my next entry absolutely guarantees that I will be entering, further supporting the club, and spending anywhere from $100 to $200 out of pocket on that next entry… plus I’ll be back volunteering.
Clubs and Committees. If you are a club hosting a show, please put your best face(s) forward. Friendly and well-organized goes further for me than anything else (yes, even further than vouchers!). Your show committee should not have the person who would lose their butt if not attached as the volunteer coordinator, nor should that person be the witch who most recently fell from their broom. You’ll get me to volunteer for these trials under those conditions exactly once. There are two clubs that come to mind that have made this mistake that have lost me for the time being as a volunteer. One club, while filled with kind people, has lost all sense of organization. I doubt anyone would be sad if they missed hosting a trial or two and instead took a step back to get things together again, but unless that happens, there is little I or anyone else could do to ease their burden. The other club is run by equally disorganized but also slightly evil people. I’ll show because I love to- if there are no other options- but believe me, it’s in and out, and all the while keeping my head down, lest I lose it. Yeah, it’s that bad.
Facility. Maybe it’s just me, but the site plays a huge part in the size of the part I’ll play for volunteering. Of course it’s easier to volunteer in climate controlled environments, but also ring accessibility matters too. If the ring is completely fenced, it’s great for the flight risk dogs, but not so good for the ‘pop in and help’ volunteering style. Also, though trending downward, one-ring shows compel people to volunteer. It’s not always possible, but something to consider.
FREEEEDOOOOMMMMM. You know you can count on me, but please don’t take advantage. I prefer to sign up for things like course building; I can help a lot throughout the day, but still have lots of downtime. I like to be able to sign up ‘day of’ for other things- the chart on the wall is my favorite. Don’t try to tie me down for all classes every day- I need time to rest, relax, tend to my dogs, etc, just like anyone else. There comes a point of feeling forced occasionally and if I don’t feel the Freedom, I may go a little Braveheart and rebel.
But even if all those things don’t exactly align, you can usually see me helping anyways. To an extent, what they say is true: volunteering is its own reward. More often than not even, it’s a blast. I like getting a good seat to watch people run, getting extra exercise and I’ve learned a lot. What I’ve gotten from course building is especially valuable. But the real value has been meeting new people, making some friends, and enjoying a great weekend out with them. And if someone hasn’t yet experienced that part because they’ve never volunteered, well, more’s the pity.
***
I won’t end with a big, ‘RA RA RA, Get out there and volunteer!’ or any other enticing argument for my view. I’ll continue happily on my path, and leave you to yours… but maybe they’ll cross over a nice volunteer lunch someday.
I mean, MN Agility Club serves Panera- how awesome is that???
I say I'm the Leader, but it's a funny joke. Hahah, see how we have a laugh at that?
Some bloggers are smarter that others and realized this fact long ago: The dogs, seriously, are in charge.
I'm but a pawn whose main functions are Toy/Food Supplier and Medical Bill Payer.
Well, maybe not a pawn. I doubt they have any serious plans around my use, so I can't quite rate myself a pawn. More like a lackey, maybe.
Anyways, I came to some conclusions after thinking a LOT on the drive home Saturday from the TIM USDAA show; some about being a slave to the dogs and some about the dogs in general. It was a two hour drive...each way... so believe me this is all well thought out. Me and Myself had a pretty good dialogue and really hashed out some points that have been up for discussion for some time.
One: The Dog is not the simpering sack of stress she so often claims to be.
Two: By presenting herself in that manner, she has enslaved me with RULES, leaving her completely the boss. Wiley minx.
Three: Outside agility is simply not our best friend anymore.
Four: I need to be a better "cookie" for The Pup.
To expand...
First, The Pup. I love that she has a lot of joy for everything. She is a very happy dog, free from any mental hang ups at this point. Nothing gets to her, nothing brings her down and when she wants something she is going to go for it. But we have a slight issue with some hedonistic tendencies. I know she's a baby and has typical baby ADD and part of it is that I give her a lot of choice in doing what she wants and the other part is that she likes everything therefore wants to choose everything. Up until now it hasn't been a huge problem- but then she bolted to go chase a doggie while we were working recalls. That shouldn't happen. She needs to pick me when we are working. So I'm going to be more amazing I guess. I'm also going to have to limit the social stuff a bit more, or at least put control to it. She's young, maybe there is still time before she thinks she is TOTALLY the boss??
Here, I am making my job as Food Supplier work for me!
Which brings me back to The Dog. I've decided that yes, she has some anxiety, but I also think she is A Girl Who Knows What She Wants. I believe her anxiety is pretty much centered around her Type A desire for perfection. But I am really starting to get the sense that some of the odd behaviors she throws are signs of a stubborn dog not getting her way. Before the scales were more tipped in the direction of Must Be Perfect, but now I think it's tilting the other way and to an extent I'm being buffaloed.
Example: Before in Snookers, I had to have a perfectly clear plan- pretty much a normal course- for her to do well. If she couldn't tell where we were going she'd plod along looking worried and if I repeated something too much it stressed her out ("What, did I do it wrong before? Why else do I need to do it again???"). Now, I do still have to give her lots of information, but can get a nice run from her even with a kooky plan. BUT one of her "new rules" is not allowing me to turn her away from the course. With growing frequency, if I try anything that makes away from the equipment she turns it into Custer's Last Stand. And since I obviously want to have nice runs, look at the clever way I would be forced to comply once again with her rules!
But now that I'm on to her, I think I have a few ways to get a grip back on Leadership duties. Of course, it's all good for her since it will result in tons of rewarding for being biddable and not stubborn, but nothing wrong with a little win-win. Plan one is to steal the 1000 toy tosses idea. Not sure who came up with it, but it's just a way of making myself accountable for rewarding more while at the same time getting her commitment levels up. In general, I think I can let go of the idea that she is a soft little thing and start having some more expectations. Sensitive yes, soft no. I'm fine with some of her rules- no start line is fun!- but I think she needs to start meeting me part way.
As for the last thing, about the great outdoors, she just can't maintain in the heat. I've always known she was a little intolerant, but it's so apparent now that I've been doing some compare/contrast (bringing out my mad grade school skillz). So we're going to limit outdoor shows, either less classes, one day only, or not going to bother. And I'll try getting her on some energy boosters too. This is another "rule" I'm ok with. I don't particularly enjoy running in the heat and while she loves rainy cold days I can't say I am either a fan or able to predict those.
So yeah. Believe me our one day entered provided a lot of evidence to these conclusions. The Dog had a lovely Gamblers run first thing (in cold weather) where I only asked her for her favorite things (straight lines, contacts and tunnels), followed by a clean but weirdo Standard run (HOT; had to start with icky weaves-against her rule- and so then didn't want to play until we made up on the table, where she tried to give me kisses...AGAIN! Then was a bullet. Weirdo). Grand Prix was clean and extremely efficient, loved the course, but down a notch in the heat from where it could have been. Then abysmal Snookers run where she got mad and stopped playing when I (ah-HA!) asked her to turn away from the course right off the bat. 1-7- TWEET. I declared that I was unhappy by not letting her get the ball AND making her watch while I ran Black Dog. One would think that a super squishy soft dog would not bounce back from that 'extreme punishment,' however it wound her WAY up so our last run was an amazing one in Jumpers (again, cool weather and her favorite type of Jumpers course). She made straight lines out of all the serps- yee-haw.
Really, it was pretty easy to come to the conclusions I did. Maybe the two hour drive home was a good thing. Though the dogs disagreed and started screaming half-way through it- only to be appeased by chicken nuggets.
With the final installment of Harry Potter looming, I can't help but be a little swept up in all the excitement.
It's going to be so epic!
I've been addicted to the books, then the movies for at LEAST a decade.
Yes I realize it makes me a 27 year old Harry Potter nerd. But I'm totally ok with that.
I'm invested, I can't deny it.
Like, really invested.
It's kind of on my brain. A lot.
I try and focus on stuff. Work, dog sports, all that.
But it just keeps creeping in.
So finally, I just let myself imagine...
What would it be like if they did agility in Harry Potter??
There'd be a heck of a lot less down time between classes and fewer back injuries because the courses could be charmed to set themselves!
No more worrying about fowl weather conditions with all the spells to counter storms....
We'd have perfect records, every time, with the new Timer/Scribe system. Enchanted objects never get distracted watching the dog instead of the judge!
And sure, the robes would be cumbersome, but if you find yourself too slow or out of place, then you just make yourself magically disappear and reappear in the place you needed to be. Brings new meaning to the words 'blind cross...'
And finally, no more stressing out over missed running contacts- just learn the right incantation and your dog has the perfect stride every time!
Ah, magic.
If only.
All I can say is that I really need to see that movie and SOON or agility is going to get VERY disappointing!
I have to admit, when we first pulled up to the facility after an annoying hour drive in the drizzly fog my heart sank a little and I started wondering what horrors we had signed up for.Attractive on the outside it was not.Mucky muck, flies and a horse tramping around. And smelly.
But actually, the arena itself was quite perfect for agility. No dust. Did anyone else notice that? I didn’t, not until I went to blow my nose and…nothing! Amazing.Nice surface for running too.I didn’t think so at first, but I certainly didn’t feel like I spent the weekend running on concrete or quicksand this morning. Plus the whole bonus of a roof, considering it decided to rain and be disgusting, as is the norm lately. So… good choice, ACTS!
(But can we do something about the ungodly amount of spiders please? It was like Arachnophobia meets Eight Legged Freaks meets Air Bud or similar movie with smart dogs.*Shudder* Too bad I can’t use my worker vouchers for therapy…)
***
To be fair though- I think my first impression may have had something to do with my overall lack of desire to be showing at all on Saturday.I don’t know what was up with that.Maybe just a case of the blahs. Not enough serotonin recently?Anyways, my attitude was a bit off, therefore we were a bit off as a team.The Dog was a good girl, I think she had fun anyways, but by the end of the day was looking at me like she seriously thought I needed to get it together. Ok FINE.
Sunday I was much better.I figured out by the time we got there that I was running dumb and making my teammate crazy.So one kick in the pants later and we were off.Sunday was a good day; we both had fun, all the better when we have fun together.
***
So, recap. Positively positive things of a non-quantifiable manner:
*The Dog felt extremely loose this weekend. I don’t recall the last time she stretched out as well as she did going into the first run.Full extension on all parts.She retained that throughout, which gives me warm fuzzies. Further fuzzies because I could tell she felt good. Does this mean I’ve seen the last of the shoulder thing? Who knows, but we may be on the right track.
*On the subject of feeling good, she had just lovely happy contacts. I think her Aframe performance is a huge indicator of her physical status and her Aframes were great. Maybe missed one- none called though.Her teeters were nice and not sticky or fly-offy, and her dogwalks…ahhhhhhhhhhhh… Sigh of joy.Remember, I had no expectation, so I just about hugged her when her first one of the weekend she ran up…across… and off.Not full tilt of course (baby steps!) but constant movement without hesitation. And imagine my surprise when she did it again… and again… and for every dogwalk, all weekend long. Holy. Crapola. And you can bet your best dog that I marked the HECK out of those dogwalks. Click/Treat me.The beauty part is (yes, there’s more!) that I actually get ‘why this weekend?’ and not last time.Watch out, Dog, I’m starting to understand that enigma that is YOU! Mu-wahahaha.
*SHE AUTO-DROPPED ON THE TABLE IN BOTH STANDARD RUNS!!!! ZOMG!!!!!
Positively saddening things:
*WEAVES! ARGHHHH! Do we work them? YES. In all manner of scenario? YES. Do I reward them? YESSSS. But issues persist.I’m still weeping over her amazing, perfect gamblers run yesterday, amazing right up to the point where she bailed out of the poles at 10 at the end of the gamble and then ran away in shame.Clearly, she knew it was wrong- I hadn’t even registered it yet so she couldn’t have been keying off my reaction. So why not just stay in? And why not even try to get in the poles in the first place? Grand Prix was a big ol’ NQ after a weave refusal- she just made a big circle, walking though them at pole 6 or so. Um, hello Dog, I think you missed something. Wa.
All things quantifiable:
0/2 in Gamblers- Wha?? I don’t think that’s ever happened.I’ll just take this to mean that we are getting better about being a team and it isn’t so easy for her to be Independent China Traveler anymore?
2/2 in the Steeple rounds- also not sure she’s ever been clean in both rounds before.4th in round 1, 2nd in round 2- just behind White Dog, who wanted to prove to her mother that she isn’t old yet. The Steeple Q was number 25 too, so that finished her Silver Tournament thinger.
4/4 in Snookers- no, it wasn’t a special Snookers-palooza Trial.I just ran all three girls yesterday.My plan on day one was unrehearsed, nonsensical, and spontaneous, and naturally didn’t go over very well, so I worked hard to find a fun but pointy plan for the Dog on Sunday. Success!So much so that mom handed me the girls and Success! Success! I think that may have been the most fun I’ve had in that class to date; The Dog was driving and mind-reading and for once we both ran all out the entire time, which was really fun. She did take a bar for our first color in the opening, but would absolutely have won if not for that- her time was blazin’! Really, a first for us on a few levels. Black Dog did the same plan and was very good; I think she ended up winning despite the hairy start (Stay? Em, no. STAY. Em, NO. STA-ok, we're going! YES!). White Dog did a crazy improv plan, but she did it really well- even got her Aframe.
1/1 Pairs and Jumpers-3rd in Jumpers, very nice run for The Dog- she absolutely loved the course and put out great effort for the last class of the weekend.
1/2 Standard- first bar down on the first day, but a nice run from her. It was a bit trappy; I gave her a lot of trust and she handled it well.Day two was a lovely run, very snappy and clean. She even won, which is worth mentioning as it’s another ‘first ever’ moment.
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The Pup had a great time too- she learned how to bark at dogs when they run and how to tug her leash psychotically when she gets that excited. She also was exposed to a barn for the first time and actually was really well behaved- I thought for sure she’d turn Total Terrier but she did well on heeling and trick work despite the atmosphere.Despite all the fun she’s maintaining show etiquette…mostly… and is still not screaming her head off when in her crate.Still waiting to see how long that lasts…
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Showing for just one day next weekend. Let’s see if I manage to get the mud off anything before then. I am too scared to go through anything now though- I keep thinking a spider hitched a ride back with us and laid eggs in my rain coat or something.
